Profile of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

The mood of Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai is contemplative, gloomy, and captivating. The plot centers around lone wolves, misfits, and psychological motives. It is a drama, independent, and crime movie. In approach, it is serious and realistic. The pacing is slow. The setting is New York. It happens in the 1990s. The musical score is hip hop. The movie is known for being critically acclaimed and original. Note that it includes profanity.

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Summary

Eastern and Western cultures and philosophies intersect in this comic drama from acclaimed director...
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Eastern and Western cultures and philosophies intersect in this comic drama from acclaimed director Jim Jarmusch. Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a silent modern-day warrior who lives on a rooftop shack. He spends his days breeding pigeons and playing chess in the park with his best friend, Raymond (Isaach de Bankolé), a French-speaking ice-cream man. At night he goes to work as a hit man, performing his tasks stealthily and invisibly, abiding by the codes established by HAGAKURE: THE BOOK OF THE SAMURAI, an 18th-century text. One night, while on his latest hit, Ghost Dog encounters a mob boss's beautiful daughter, Louise (Tricia Vessey). Although Ghost Dog leaves her unharmed, her father nonetheless orders Ghost Dog's execution, to the dismay of Louie (John Tormey), his loyal retainer. As the mobsters struggle to locate the mysteriously untraceable Ghost Dog, he must find a way to protect himself while remaining loyal to Louie and the ancient codes that define him as an individual. Jarmusch successfully tackles a variety of genres with GHOST DOG, including mob movies and spiritual samurai films. Fusing all of this with the RZA's thumping, atmospheric score, GHOST DOG remains another lighthearted, entertaining addition to Jarmusch's impressive filmography.
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Users Reviews

great

great

25.October.2014 |
by: Nastiia Biz

0

Nastiia Biz rated this title

This movie was awkward, silly, wierd, and wonderful. Jim Jarmusch has come to be one of my favorite filmmakers. His movies are very artsy-fartsy, but they are so goofy and fun that they don't appear pretentious.
This movie does have some good...

This movie was awkward, silly, wierd, and wonderful. Jim Jarmusch has come to be one of my favorite filmmakers. His movies are very artsy-fartsy, but they are so goofy and fun that they don't appear pretentious.
This movie does have some good action, good comedy, and great ideas. Don't be scared away if you don't prefer artsy movies. You might like this one. It has a lot of charm. And Rza does the soundtrack, too.
The interviews on the disc are interesting as well.

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05.April.2011 |
by: Eric Trimmer

9

Eric Trimmer rated this title

It's a great movie just don't take it seriously no matter how hard it tries to me make you believe that it's being serious.
For example: The character Ghost Dog is such a serious character he grabs your attention from the beginning, but they decided...

It's a great movie just don't take it seriously no matter how hard it tries to me make you believe that it's being serious.
For example: The character Ghost Dog is such a serious character he grabs your attention from the beginning, but they decided to make the mafia men in this movie as dumb as paint. In fact at times they&#8217;re so dumb it's funny. Especially when one starts to rap! But the thought quickly enters my mind this story is supposed to be serious. I eventually try not to take the movie to serious.
Nonetheless it's still a good movie. RENT IT.

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20.March.2009 |
by: chrgeorgeson

6

chrgeorgeson rated this title

A pleasing mix of emotions, action, and comedy

From the title I expected this movie to be a corny mix of genres without any plot, but I was happily wrong. I really empathized with Ghost Dog throughout the movie, and he made the choices that I hoped he would. Wonderfully written and...

From the title I expected this movie to be a corny mix of genres without any plot, but I was happily wrong. I really empathized with Ghost Dog throughout the movie, and he made the choices that I hoped he would. Wonderfully written and performed.
I knew from the beginning that Ghost Dog would die in the end, but I was still disappointed when it happened. The chronology also doesn't seem to make perfect sense; he was apparently a ruthless and professional assassin for years, but applied the Samurai's code in just a few days.

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29.January.2009 |
by: theymos

9

theymos rated this title

Amazing Performance

Whitaker just outright stunned me with his performance in this movie. A Spike Lee/Kurosawa mix that left you thinking about it for days after. Simply a must see.

Whitaker just outright stunned me with his performance in this movie. A Spike Lee/Kurosawa mix that left you thinking about it for days after. Simply a must see.

05.January.2009 |
by: jfouts

10

jfouts rated this title

my all time favorite

i will always remember the first time i saw this movie - a really special experience. a combination of a Kurosawa samurai film, a Spike Lee urban ghetto film with hip hop music, and a Scorsese gangster movie. it sounds impossible but Jim Jarmusch...

i will always remember the first time i saw this movie - a really special experience. a combination of a Kurosawa samurai film, a Spike Lee urban ghetto film with hip hop music, and a Scorsese gangster movie. it sounds impossible but Jim Jarmusch pulls it off and does it amazingly well. the acting by Forest Whitaker should have earned him the Oscar and the music from rza (who also appears in the movie for a brief cameo) is the best i've heard in a movie. if you haven't watched it, you must!